Editorial for 21 December: Filthy beaches are a shame

That’s the finding of filmmaker Edward Scott-Clarke who has been in the Cayman Islands taking pictures of our picture-perfect pristine beaches – the ones we show off to our tourists – and the lesser known beaches that we Caymanians frequent.

It’s a wake up call that those of us who live near these lesser known beaches need to do a better job of picking up the trash that washes ashore from God who knows where.

Much of the stuff that washes up on our shores is plastic – bottles, bags, flip flops, athletic shoes, cutlery, cups, plates, bowls – and it is a hazard, not only to our beaches (and our image) but to marine life.

While we can’t stop the currents bringing trash to our shores, we can take measures in our own lives to reduce the amount of plastic that is finding its ways into our landfill and along our roadways and eventually into our sea.

Keep in mind how much plastic you are actually consuming each time you go to a retailer and purchase something. Many of the items we buy come in plastic packaging. We can try to steer clear of those items, or buy in bulk to limit the amount of plastic packaging we are discarding. We can all do a better job of eating off of reusable plates and bowls and using cutlery that isn’t made of plastic. Ditto for drinking out of washable cups and glasses.

Instead of buying that soda in a plastic bottle, pick up one that is in an aluminium can, which can be recycled on Grand Cayman.

And speaking of recycling, in this era of protestations to urge change, rally your elected representative(s) to get serious about putting in a proper recycling programme for all three of our Islands. We have paid lip service to this idea for far too long.

Area supermarkets are already on the road to getting rid of plastic bags and urging shoppers to bring their own reusable bags. To them and those shoppers that are participating, we say thanks. But we need to do more. We can start by taking care of our beaches, paying attention to the plastics we are buying and insisting on recycling.